Director, Communications & Donor Experience

Introduction

The Royal Ottawa Foundation for Mental Health is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to raising funds and generating awareness to support The Royal, one of Canada’s foremost mental health care, teaching, and research hospitals. In Canada, one in four individuals are experiencing a mental illness or substance use disorder right now. Recognizing the significance of this statistic, the Royal Ottawa Foundation contributes funding to the Royal, to support the highest quality of care and research achievable. By collaborating with generous donors and fostering a strong sense of community, they play a pivotal role in improving the lives of those affected by mental illness and substance use disorders, while reducing the stigma associated with it.

Since 1986, the Foundation supports the work of the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, the Brockville Mental Health Centre, and the Institute of Mental Health Research at The Royal, affiliated with the University of Ottawa. These respected institutions are renowned for their commitment to delivering outstanding patient care and conducting innovative research in the field of mental health. Home to over 100 researchers including 80 clinician scientists, the Foundation’s efforts ensure that these institutions have the resources necessary to advance the knowledge, understanding, and treatment of mental and substance use health.

Operating independently from the institutions it supports, the Foundation is governed by a dedicated volunteer Board of Directors who help guide initiatives and focus on the mission. Collectively, the organization emphasizes transparency and integrity as fundamental principles with their donors, communicating openly and providing clear information on the impact of philanthropy. Additionally, the Foundation maintains a strong emphasis on financial management, ensuring that donor funds are allocated responsibly and efficiently to maximize their impact.

The Foundation is dedicated to inspiring philanthropy that will improve the lives of people impacted by mental and substance use health issues. To further this mission, the Foundation is seeking a Director of Communications and Donor Experience. This leader will help drive philanthropy, raise awareness, and provide a platform for those the Foundation supports to share their stories. By doing so, they hope to create a brighter future for others.

Summary of role

As the Director of Communications and Donor Experience, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the organization's future and making a lasting impact on the lives of people living with complex and treatment-resistant mental illness. Directly reporting to the President of the Foundation, you will serve as a key strategic leader within the area of marketing, communications, and donor experience. In collaboration with the leadership team, you will focus on fundraising efforts, participating in the strategic planning process and development of an annual operating plan that aligns with the Foundation’s mission and objectives.

This role encompasses overseeing all aspects of the Foundation’s marketing and communications, including brand management, advertising, market research, digital, and social media initiatives. You will strategically lead the creation of public-facing strategies and campaigns with the goal in mind to raise awareness of the Foundation, cultivate and steward existing donors, and attract new supporters. You will develop differentiated donor relations strategies across various segments and fundraising products, driving growth and fostering strong relationships. Your leadership and collaborative skills will be applied as you work with multiple departments, stakeholders, and cross-functional teams to achieve the Foundation’s objectives.

As the Foundation's primary advisor on communications, you will collaborate with hospital communications partners to proactively enhance messaging and brand presence. It is critical that while mutual interests are considered and promoted, all messaging is uniformed, however unique to the Foundation. You will refine project management, marketing, and stewardship processes to effectively streamline operations and strengthen impact. Utilizing evidence and data, you will develop key performance indicators that drive informed decision-making and demonstrate the effectiveness of marketing communications and donor relations programs. You will safeguard The Royal's brand and visual identity while overseeing the design and production of campaigns. Your oversight of agencies, vendors, contracts, and freelance employee relationships will support effective coordination and delivery of value.

Enhancing the donor experience will be a key focus of your role. You will map donor journeys, develop donor profiles, creating impactful, highly tailored communications and engagement strategies. Working in close partnership with the fundraising team and the Campaign Cabinet, you will provide tools and resources to enable the acquisition of new donors, re-engagement of lapsed donors, and retention of existing supporters. You will build strong relationships with hospital partners and senior management to gather stories of patient experiences that showcase the excellence and unique value of The Royal and its philanthropic impact. Additionally, you will play a vital role in media training hospital partners, including social workers, patients, scientists, and other professionals. This training will equip them with the skills and confidence to effectively communicate their experiences and expertise, further enhancing the Foundation’s organization's visibility and impact.

With an entrepreneurial spirit and growth mindset, you will uphold a culture of innovation and collaboration within the Foundation. You will motivate and encourage a high-performing team to create, develop, and achieve personal and collective goals. You will provide strategic guidance to and work collaboratively with your colleagues at the Foundation, board members, volunteers, donors, corporate partners and other stakeholders to create a culture of donor-centricity. Your knowledge, leadership, and integration of communications strategies will support fundraising efforts and reinforce commitment to transparency and donor engagement.

Is this for you?

If you are looking to hold an influential position within an impactful organization, this is the

opportunity for you. Striving for new ways to engage with existing and potential new donors while implementing strategy, you will come with a wealth of knowledge from previous experience and an open mind for new ideas. You are both strategic and tactical, demonstrating an ability to see the bigger picture with the ability to develop an actionable roadmap for you and your team to execute.

You will bring progressive leadership experience and a proven track record in fundraising communications, brand development, and donor relations including stewardship. You have successfully implemented strategic plans and initiatives and possess a strong understanding of the interrelationship between enterprise vision, philanthropic growth, campaign design, and constituent engagement. By leveraging data analytics, you have created strategies to engage the community, utilize social and digital platforms, identify prospects, and cultivate donors.

You have a background in communications and marketing with nonprofit experience, ideally within a hospital, educational, or other complex setting. Donor relations is one of your areas of expertise and you are best described as a creative thinker, adept at transforming technical information into compelling content. Your strong networking and negotiation skills enable effective engagement with senior-level individuals and you excel in persuasive writing for proposals, pitch decks, speeches, and donor impact reports. While it will be considered an asset should you be bilingual in French, it is essential that you have exceptional written and verbal communication skills in English.

Perhaps most importantly, you are passionate about the cause, community, and impact the Foundation has towards mental health research and care. You are energizing, empathetic, and team-oriented, carrying a positive, optimistic, and can-do attitude while being a culture enthusiast for the organization. You have the organization’s best interests as high priority and are motivated by the opportunity to make positive change within the team and for the community.